New Delhi, Dec. 28: Fighter aircraft squadrons will be deployed for the first time in south India and the Andamans, regions where Indian Air Force bases have so far had only transport planes and other logistics facilities.

Air Marshal P.K. Barbora, the IAF vice-chief, said the deployment was aimed at countering the threat of aerial or sea attacks by â€œnon-state actors such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the LTTEâ€, which the home ministry suspects is regrouping.

The plan is also seen as a way to thwart attacks by terrorists and pirates, who could target oil tankers headed to Indian ports with the aim of crippling the countryâ€™s growth by choking supplies to the energy-hungry nation.

â€œThis (fighters in the south) is in our plans. The first two squadrons of the light-combat aircraft (LCA) would be based in south India. Squadrons of either the MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) or the Sukhoi would be there too,â€ Barbora said on the sidelines of an IAF event. One squadron comprises 15 to 20 jets.

The LCAs could be based at Sulur in Tamil Naduâ€™s Coimbatore. â€œThe role of the IAF would increase in south India. We are also thinking of increasing our presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. As far as non-state actors are concerned, we canâ€™t say when, where and what they will do...if defence services are called upon to contribute to efforts to put down the design of non-state actors, we are always available.â€

The IAFâ€™s planned expansion in the south is also aimed protecting Indiaâ€™s larger interests in the Indian Ocean Region.

Speaking about the indigenously built LCA, named Tejas, Barbora announced that the jets would be deployed by the end of 2011.

The LCA is set to get induction clearance next month despite â€œsome issuesâ€, though Barbora said the IAF was â€œreasonably happyâ€ with the jet to give it initial operational clearance.

Orders for 40 such aircraft have been placed with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, the state-owned manufacturer.

The operational clearance is expected to come through next month, which will set in the motion the process of induction of the jets. â€œHopefully, the first squadron of the LCA would be formed by the end of next year at Sulur,â€ Barbora said. The induction into the IAF fleet is expected to start in the middle of 2011.

Barbora conceded that the aircraft being developed since mid-1980s had been readied a â€œlittle lateâ€ but insisted that it was helping India achieve its goal of designing and developing a fighter aircraft indigenously.

To tackle â€œteething problemsâ€, the aircraft will be kept briefly after its induction at the IAF base in Bangalore, where Hindustan Aeronautics is also based.

â€œInitially, for the sake of stability, the aircraft will be based in Bangalore itself. Hopefully, the teething problems, which will be there, would be resolved,â€ Barbora said.

Who's gonna attack South-India through the air?.The Pakistanis nor the Chinese have the resources to pull that stunt.Heck Chinese cannot attack India using PLAAF they would rather use the second artillery regiment.A fighter base at Lakshwadeep makes sense and one at Andaman makes sense but having a fighter base in south-india isn't making sense to me.It appears to me the IAF doesn't want the LCA to work or fly

Teething problems are many, like spare support, IAF needs time to determine the number of spares needed per flight hour, although it must be known by now to a certain extent but it needs to be checked and rechecked. IAF technicians needs to be trained in number so that they can take care of the planes without external support. More over it makes good sense to keep it near the maintainence facility in initial years till sufficient man power gets trained in upkeep of the machine.

Who's gonna attack South-India through the air?.The Pakistanis nor the Chinese have the resources to pull that stunt.Heck Chinese cannot attack India using PLAAF they would rather use the second artillery regiment.A fighter base at Lakshwadeep makes sense and one at Andaman makes sense but having a fighter base in south-india isn't making sense to me.It appears to me the IAF doesn't want the LCA to work or fly

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With introduction of mid air re fullers and Chinese ambition of having air craft carriers the battle space is changed. heard of LTTE AF? Moreover lot of nuclear power plants are coming in coastal cities those also needs to be protected. Our southern air space is not well defended, expect more news on new facilities coming up.

Jp, we cannot wait for someone to attack. We have to be prepared all round to prevent any surprises. Also its not necessary for such a deployment to be of defensive in nature. It could be for offensive as well in the garb of defensive.

The reason they are basing in sulur is that is close to bangalore where its made. it can be flight tested even more in mock battles etc to give input for the next tranche of the fighter.

A bit about Sulur

An Indian Air Force base is located near Sulur at Kangayampalayam Village. This Air base was established in the year 1940 by RAF of the then ruled British Raj. This was a strategic base during World War II for the Royal Navy's Fleet Arm: â€œRoyal Navy Squadronâ€(RANS). This base was used as repair base for Southeast Asian planes. The Sulur Airbase which was used by the British, was burned down on 26 August 1942 during the 1942 August revolution. In 1943, the Indian Royal Airforce came to Sulur, which later got shifted to Cochin in 1949. After gaining independence, the Indian Navy established INAS Hansa at this place to operate the Sea Hawks. After the liberation of Goa, INAS Hansa shifted to Dabolim there and Sulur was taken over by the Air Force. In 1955, the 5BRD (No 5, Base Repair Depot) of Indian Air Force was planned and it started functioning in 1959. For some time this airbase was also used for civil aviation. Since 14 January 1984 this base has been a part of the Indian Air Force. The runway was used for racing motorcycle and cars in 1960s.

Its also part of inter-services rivalry. Remember in India army, navy and Air force have to invent different needs to get larger portion of funds. When air foce opted for Su-30 mki, IAF had to tone down its aircraft carrier requirement to Air defence Ship.

Its also part of an on going turf war, which the army is unfortunately left out of. Why do you think the IAF has lined up so many programs MMRCA, ab initio trainer, IJT, light utility helicopter, medium utility helicopter, attack helicopter etc all the time, India is perhaps in best phase and mood to spend on defence. The way defence resouces are cut around the world the IAF wishes to square itself a large chunk of resouces which are returned unspent by Army and Navy being the effective utilizer would be more prevy to allocation of additional funds. But for IAF is shedding crocodile tears about young pilots dying, low squadron strength 50% obsolete to draw more attention, classic good for nothing winer with a stud attitude.

Just curious how can they shed obsolence upto, to reach 80% state of art suddenly in 2015.

"It may not be what we want, but it is our own aircraft," says the Indian Navy's Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA) Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai on the LCA Navy in an interview to FORCE magazine. He was asked how effective the LCA Navy would be for a carrier-based role given that it "only an eight ton platform". The officer's response: "I wish wish we could straightaway develop a Rafale. But seriously, we have to look at the Indian Navy and it commitment towards indigenisation. I agree that we have made a modest start, but it has been a huge learning experience. LCA Navy will remain a modest platform with an uprated engine which will give us adequate capability at sea. While it is easy to buy from abroad, sometimes it is extremely difficult to support those platforms. Our past experiences tell us that it is worth committing resources to develop our own assets."

Also, unless the LCA Navy decides to fly tomorrow or the day after, looks like it will be missing its December first flight schedule. What a pity.

I have a malayalee friend. He once told me as part of Indo-Pak, I forgot the year. He told me pakistani war ships attacked cochin, but they shut off power in city to blind the ship to vital installations, the bombs missed and hit a water body thus was rendered unharmed.- So south India is never as secure as we would like to believe.

The biggest threat for south India is pakistani Refueller aircraft. Since the response time available would be very minimal.

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New Delhi: The LTTE, which is almost on the verge of a wipe out, is trying to regroup and planning to launch spectacular strikes on high-profile targets like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

According to an intelligence input, some cadres of the LTTE, who escaped the wrath of the Sri Lankan Army during the all-out operations in the island nation earlier this year, were trying to regroup in India and planning attacks on top political leaders, particularly when they travel in Tamil Nadu.

The security agencies have taken the input seriously as former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE suicide squad members in the southern state in 1991.

The first squadron of HAL Tejas Mk1 would be located at Sulur Airbase near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.Twenty LCAs would be stationed at Sulur in the first phase by early next year.Similarly another fleet of 40 LCAs, designed by DRDO and manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, would be stationed at an airbase near Dindigul in Tamil Nadu by the second half of next year...Currently Tejas is busy in bombings in Pokharan and has attained test speeds upto Mach 1.5, tests to continue till the end of this month..JAI HIND

good move indeed ,at least we have a token fighter presence as of now ,but we need more heavier aircaft like sukhoi ,and what about naval fighters,put some if them also there,i think when karwar project totally completed we have more secure air and sea front in the south .

I do not think that inter-service rivalry has to do with either putting the first Tejas in Sulur or the rapid aquisitions by IAF.

The reason Tejas is being based in Sulur is the following -

1. Tejas is still a developing platform, where systems are still being upgraded and uprated. Keeping the fighters near Bangalore saves in logistics for development.
2. The IAF is still learning about the platform itself - so they would not want to keep it too far forward near the western or the north-east border YET. In a few years, when they are more confident, they will.
3. Tejas Mk1 is still being a light interceptor aircraft - not a true multirole platform. Tejas Mk2 will be multirole. Presently, IAF wants multirole aircraft in the border areas and they have the MKI, the Mirages and the upgraded Mi-29 SMTs - so they can wait for the Tejas mk2 to arrive.

The reason IAF is building up it's inventory is simple - Indian military is still only ready for the last war - not for the next one. To be ready for the next war, you need advanced platforms and weapons - and NOW is always a better time than LATER.
MMRCA, FGFA, Super-30, Mirage upgrades, Mig-29 upgrades and LCA mk2 are all important for that "next war" readiness.